I am so glad that I read this book, adventure, love, dragons, magic and outwitting death are all woven together in this fantastic tale.Count Leopold has a strange locked chest that is calling to him...literally. He listens to the voice in the box and unlocks the first two locks, but hesitates on the third and decides to call upon the magician who locked the box in the first place, Hildigrim Blackbeard. Hildigrim must release Leopold's fate and risk his life, the life of his love, Lady Mary and Leopold's half brother, Ivan the terrible in order to outwit death itself. My favorite part of The Count of the Living Death is Mary's character, she is an intelligent, quick-witted female character who is fighting for love but making sound decisions and fending for herself-even in front of a dragon. It's very refreshing to have a strong female lead in adventure story. I was also intrigued by the character of Death itself and enjoyed how Death functioned in the living world as well as the world Death had created for itself. Overall, the story is very well written and keeps the reader entertained through enough twists, turns and magic. While Leopold and Mary are 19 years old, this is a good book for Young Adult and Adult readers alike.

This is a story of what happens after the "happily ever after." Queen Snow White is now an older woman, Prince Charming is dead and she is trying to deal with the marriage of her only daughter, Princess Raven. Feeling abandoned, lonely and full of grief oven no longer having her Prince Charming with her, Queen Snow White tries to find solace in the one place that she knows that no one will look for her. In the long abandoned chambers of her cruel and abusive step-mother, Arglist, Snow White stumbles upon the magic mirror. Falling for the magic mirror's charms, Snow White is forced to reflect upon aspects of her life that she would rather not repeat in order to come to terms with what is happening in her life now.

I loved the concept of this book, not just a retelling of Snow White, but a whole new perspective from Snow White as an older woman. I enjoyed the device of using the magic mirror to force Snow White to reflect upon issues of her past in order for her to come to terms with them, I liked that we got to see the events from the fairy tale in this new light. I did wish that we got to see see Snow White as an even stronger female character, but we do get to see her slowly gain strength and confidence within herself. I would have also liked to explored more of how Queen Snow White dealt with the marriage of her daughter. There were a few editing errors in the version of the story I received along with some weird word choices such as 'melancholic funk" which didn't really fit the feel of the book.

My Lady of the Bog is part Archeo-Forensic mystery, like the title says but is also part enchantment and magic.

The first mystery begins when a perfectly preserved body of a beautiful woman is found in a peat bog of a small English town. The woman is not only beautiful, but staked down to the peat bog, blindfolded and has a treasure buried beneath her. Alexander Donne, an American anthropologist studying under a Fellowship is called in. He determines that the body is possibly a thousand years old and also becomes infatuated with the woman he now calls "my lady." Together Xander and coroner Wooland try to figure out more about the Lady in the Bog and her treasure. Before the treasure is mysteriously stolen, however, Xander takes a book written in Indic and sends it to his mentor, Jai Prassad to translate. Here enters the second mystery, Jai returns the translated book, which happens to be a journal of a Prince, along with news that he is now happily married in an arranged marriage. Upon meeting Jai's wife Vidya, Xander is taken up with this new mysterious woman. As Xander begins to read the Prince's journal more strange things begin to happen with himself, Jai and Vidya. But how will the journal unravel the mystery of "my lady?"

The archeology and forensic anthropology was what drew me to this book and I enjoyed those sections the most. I wish the story would have used more evidence and found more clues from the body in the present rather than just having everything match the body from the enchanted journal. However, the journal entries were written wonderfully and I could see how they would transport someone, even if they were not enchanted. Xander's whirlwind relationship with Vidya also threw me for a loop. Vidya's mystery was secondary, but almost seemed to take more importance at times. The ending to the mystery of the Lady in the bog was well thought out and I'm glad that I got to know her entire story, even up to her tragic death.